Generally, conventional thermal control systems are designed primarily to remove or dissipate heat energy generated by electronic equipment mounted on structural panels. In some cases, such systems utilize structural panels on the exterior walls of a spacecraft or aircraft, such that heat energy is transferred through the thickness of the structural panel and then radiated into the surrounding environment. In order to cool electronic equipment, large, efficient radiative surfaces of structural panels are typically utilized. Another conventional way to cool electronic equipment includes providing constant conductance heat pipes which function as liquid coolant flow passages to increase the structural panel's heat transport capability. However, and as noted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,032, the additional weight of a more massive structural panel or of liquid cooling systems are not tolerable or desirable in some applications.
In addition, and in spite of the primary focus of such conventional thermal control systems to dissipate heat energy, electronic equipment performance can be degraded during high duty-cycle periods if sufficient amounts of heat energy cannot be dissipated. In other instances, where electronic equipment is operating at low duty-cycles, conventional thermal control systems for dissipating heat energy from electronic equipment are not desirable since the performance of such electronic equipment can degrade when operating at cooler temperatures (e.g., less than 10 degrees Celsius). Finally, without larger heater power, conventional thermal control systems are not typically capable of preserving the functionality of electronic equipment (e.g, at less than -20degrees Celsius and when the electronic equipment is powered off).